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Rula Ghani: Afghanistan’s First Lady. Myth Buster.Afghanistan’s First Lady, Rula Ghani, delivered a spirited defense of
her husband’s administration on March 31 and warned that “repeated half
truths take a life of their own…and suddenly become conventional
wisdom.”

Speaking at the Atlantic Council, Ghani described and
disputed numerous “myths” about Afghanistan that she said exist in the
West, particularly in the Western media.

South Sudan: ‘A Problem Child’Years of conflict, a dysfunctional government, and the international
community’s failure to impose tough and meaningful sanctions have
contributed to the crippling food insecurity that has caused tens of
thousands of people to flee South Sudan, according to the Atlantic
Council’s J. Peter Pham.

‘We Reap What We Sow’European governments, and in particular Belgium, are paying a heavy
price for having neglected terrorist sleeper cells that have
been forming for well more than a decade in their growing, poorly
integrated immigrant communities, said Frederick Kempe, President and
CEO of the Atlantic Council.

Brussels Bombings Reflect ISIS’ Growing ‘Attack Capability’ The bombings in Brussels on March 22 are a reflection of the Islamic
State of Iraq and al-Sham’s growing “attack capability” in Europe,
according to Michael Morell, a former Deputy Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency who serves on the Atlantic Council's board of
directors.

Belgium’s 9/11The terrorist attacks in Brussels that left at least thirty-six people
dead on March 22 represent a failure of US and European intelligence,
according to Howard Gutman, a former US Ambassador to Belgium.

ISIS Strikes Brussels: Is This The ‘New Normal’?The terrorist attacks in Brussels represent a collective failure of
Western intelligence, underscore the challenges radicalized young
Muslims pose to Europe and the United States, but most of all are
emblematic of what the Atlantic Council’s Barry Pavel describes as a
“new normal.”

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)
claimed responsibility for the March 22 attacks—at Brussels’ main
international airport and a subway station near the European Union’s
headquarters—that left at least thirty-six people dead.

Can Japan Help End the War in Syria? Japan can use its good relationships with various actors in the Syrian
civil war to help end the conflict that this month entered its sixth
year, according to Kota Suechika, a professor at the College of International Relations at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan.

Georgia Looks to Attract US Business Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze is hopeful that his
government’s decision to award a multibillion dollar contract to a
US-based company and a new economic development plan will attract more
US firms to Georgia.

A lieutenant to ISIS’ self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, told Martin Chulov, a reporter with the Guardian,
that he and at least half a dozen others in the group’s military
leadership council don’t believe ISIS can benefit from this shift in
strategy.

Turkey’s Demands Could Destroy Migrant Deal A preliminary deal struck between the European Union and Turkey to shut
Europe’s backdoor to migrants fleeing across the Aegean Sea could likely
crumble under the burden of Turkey’s demands, said the Atlantic
Council’s Fran Burwell.

In Somalia, al Shabaab Far from a Spent Force A US airstrike that killed more than 150 al Shabaab fighters at a
training camp in Somalia over the weekend emphasizes the extent of the
terrorist threat in a country that US President Barack Obama once cited
as a counterterrorism success story, said the Atlantic Council’s J.
Peter Pham.

‘Not the Time for Divisions in Europe’The last thing that Europe needs as it grapples with challenges on its
eastern and southern flanks is for the United Kingdom to walk out of the
European Union, said JoséManuel Barroso, a former President of the European Commission.

“The multiple crises Europe is facing right now make the case for more
European integration,” said Barroso. “It is certainly not the time for
divisions in Europe.”

European Official Goes to Bat for TTIPA transatlantic trade deal, currently being negotiated by the United
States and Europe, would strengthen bonds and stimulate growth on both
sides of the Atlantic, a senior European official said at the Atlantic
Council on March 2.

Trump: Rallying around an ‘instrument of class vengeance’US Senator Lindsey Graham has labelled him a “nut job.” Former
Governors Jeb Bush of Florida, Rick Perry of Texas, and Bobby Jindal of
Louisiana have described him as a “jerk, loser, liar, and whiner”; a
“cancer on conservatism”; and “a shallow, unserious, substance-free,
narcissistic egomaniac,” respectively. But these Republican
leaders’ opinions appear not to be shared by a majority of the people
who count at the ballot box: the American voter. And so it is that
Donald J. Trump, a boorish billionaire and political neophyte, has been
propelled to the front of the pack of Republican candidates hoping to be
the next occupant of the White House.